FrontBridge Technologies Inc., a leading provider of full-scale message management services, announced today the addition of the Kaspersky Anti-Virus engine to its multi-layered email security service. Kaspersky Lab joins FrontBridge's antivirus technology partners in providing enterprise-grade global protection against viruses, Trojan horses and worms. Every message that comes in and out of the FrontBridge Global Network is scanned by multiple detection engines before it reaches a customer's email system to help ensure that malicious code is removed from the mail stream.

Kaspersky Lab is leading developer of secure content management solutions, with over fifteen years of antivirus research experience. Heralded for the accuracy and frequency of its updates, Kaspersky Lab outpaces other leading virus labs in the rapid release of new virus signatures, according to the most recently published research on response times.

Kaspersky Lab was one of the first vendors to detect a new version of Email-Worm.Win32.Sober, Sober.p, which recently caused an epidemic in Western Europe. Data from ISPs showed that at the time of the epidemic the worm was the most prevalent malicious program in email traffic. Sober.p broke records in terms of the number of infected messages sent out and speed of propagation.

FrontBridge will maintain a close developer relationship with Kaspersky Lab, and by checking for signature updates every 10 minutes FrontBridge will minimize the window of vulnerability for its 3,500 customers. Additionally, FrontBridge will provide immediate protection prior to the release of any antivirus engine update by using its powerful policy and attribute blocking capability to block specific kinds of attachments or filter email based on specific characteristics.

Vitaly Bezrodnykh, Kaspersky Lab's Business Development Director, commented: “With the latest email threats able to cross the globe in minutes, it is essential for managed email services to protect their customers' email with the fastest response times and the most frequent database updates. This partnership provides FrontBridge customers with up-to-the-minute protection allowing them to reap the benefits of secure, virus-free email.”

In addition to third-party antivirus engines, the FrontBridge email security service leverages its proprietary Virus Hold technology, applying sophisticated content analysis techniques to isolate and quarantine suspected viruses before public antivirus signatures have been released.

“FrontBridge maintains one of the largest email networks, transmitting billions of messages across the globe each month,” said Dan Nadir, Vice President of Product Management for FrontBridge Technologies. “Securing incoming and outgoing email is a paramount concern and we will continue to enhance our virus detection capabilities by partnering with Kaspersky Lab to ensure that malicious code stays off our network.”